Deacon -- week 3...

Hey, I'm catching up a little bit!  :)

Just wanted to post some of the things that happened during Deacon's 3rd week of life -- these obviously aren't really exciting but they're things that I want to remember nonetheless.  So let me proceed with the randomness:

At 15 days old, we took Deacon to Jacksonville with us since Jeff had his annual HR meeting at work to discuss next year's changes with insurance, flex spending, etc.  I usually try to go with him to that meeting because it's always a good thing for me to hear what's happening at the same time.  I have been on Jeff's insurance for about the last 8 or 9 years (which has been SO nice through a couple of job changes :), so the HR meeting is beneficial for me to be there for.  Deacon did great through the meeting -- slept the whole time.  :)

He seems to like car rides for the most part.  As long as he's not really hungry, he will usually fall asleep.  The thing we're dealing with right now is his little head falling forward -- mommy hates to see that!

[16 days old]

On day 17, we rode into Wilmington with Deacon so I could get a haircut.  While I was doing that, Jeff took Deacon down to Wilmington Maternal to show him off.  Everyone there loved him, of course!  I'm sure it's really neat for them to get to see the babies after following their mommies with ultrasound for all that time.

[17 days old, his first smile caught on camera!]

I got Deacon's birth announcement out by the time he was 17 days old -- pretty proud of myself for that. :) I actually designed the announcement before Deacon arrived because I knew that if I didn't, the chances of me getting these out before he was 3 or 4 months old were probably pretty slim. I mailed out announcements to out-of-town family & friends, etc. and then we handed out a lot of them to our Connect Groups (aka Sunday School classes) that Sunday (at 19 days).

[18 days old, our little Deacon burrito]

[18 days old, sound asleep...]

[19 days old, still so small]

Jeff went back to work when Deacon was 20 days old.  Boo.  :(  He didn't want to go, and we didn't want him to go, but he did.  It was so nice to have him with us for 3 weeks.  I know that that is RARE for a daddy to be able to stay out of work for that long when his wife has a baby so I'm so grateful for that time.  He was such a big help and truly, I don't think I could have survived those weeks without his TLC for me and Deacon.

[20 days old]

We went to Deacon's 2 week well-check at the pediatrician's office at 20 days (yeah, a little late, I know).  He had gained almost an entire pound from his last appt, up to 7 lbs 13 oz, and had grown an inch, up to 20 1/4 inches.  Dr. Vinson said he was doing really well.

After his appt, I took Deacon down to see the ladies at the office and they "oohed & aahed" over him, of course.  :)  Everyone came out of their offices to hover around him.  Lucky Carol got to hold him.  :)  She said that Deacon told her she could be his "nana".  Well, he doesn't have a "nana" -- just a Grandma Sherry & a Grammy, so I guess Carol can fill the role of "nana".  :)

[21 days old, one of Deacon's fave things to do...]

At 21 days old (3 weeks), we gave Deacon his first bath in his infant tub.  And he liked it!  He just sat there in the warm water and let me wash him up.  I was so proud of him for not screaming his head off.  We used the bedtime bath & lotion since it was later in the evening and oh, man!  He smelled so yummy.  :)

[21 days old, his first bath in his infant tub]

office shower...

The office where I work threw me a shower yesterday afternoon and it was a lot of fun.  I work with a great group of girls (and guys, but they weren't invited to this shower :), and they were all so generous, bringing lots of yummy finger foods and gifts galore for baby Deacon.

Here are a few photos to summarize the fun time we had:

[37.5 weeks pregnant]

[this elephant is a special gift -- straight from the heart of Africa!  My coworker, Beth, picked it up for Deacon while she was abroad on a trip...]

[diapers & wipes -- always a good choice!]

[love those sweet little stuffed animals :)]

[my office manager, Carol, hand-stitched this bib for Deacon -- so precious!]

Many, many thanks to all the girls who helped make this shower so special for me!  It's been recorded in my special memories that accompany all the other special memories throughout this pregnancy.  You girls are the best!

gifts from friends...

This past week has been pretty special with more and more folks finding out about our big news, and with that news really sinking in to our friends.  We've already gotten a few little gifts from some of our friends, which I thought was really sweet.

My last post talked about what the office did for me so the photo shows the vase of flowers and *surviving* balloon and the sweet card that everyone signed.  There's also a "Humpty Who?" book pictured -- that's from our friend, Amy, who stopped in one day this past week to visit for a minute.  The book has all kinds of nursery rhymes and even comes with a CD to listen to -- it looks really cute.

The cute little "baby's first Christmas" bib came from our friends, Henry & Allison -- their darling son, Tripp, will turn a year old right around the time that our little one is born so we expect them to be buddies growing up.  :)

The rest of the stuff pictured is from our friends, Matthew & Elizabeth, who came to visit over the weekend.  They have a sweet 8 month old, Emily, and Elizabeth swears by that book there, "The Baby Book".  She said it was the best one she read during her pregnancy and she still refers to it.  I absolutely LOVE the little UNCW onesie.  It's a 6 mo size which will be perfect because when our little one is 6 mos old, it will be spring, so he/she will get lots of wear out of that!  The little elephant was something Emily picked out for little Baby Wenzel.  Aw.

Our friends have really made us feel so very loved and so special, even more so than they've done in the past.  We wouldn't take them for anything!  God bless you all!

special day at work...

Yesterday was the first day at work after most everyone had heard the good news.  We figured that after our SS class found out, it wouldn't take long before everyone in the church would know, including, of course, all my coworkers.

And we were right.  I didn't have to tell a SOUL yesterday -- they all already knew.  And were real excited!  In fact, we had our monthly staff lunch yesterday and when I got to the MPR (multipurpose room), there was a vase of 3 yellow carnations and 3 balloons tied to it -- 1 pink & 1 blue latex, with 1 mylar that said, "Congrats!".  They also had a card for me that everyone had signed.  It was really neat to read through everyone's sentiments about our good news.  They also gathered around me at the end of the luncheon to pray over/for me and Jeff and the baby.  It was so very special.

The office is literally buzzing with the excitement!  The "office shower" is already in the beginning stages of planning according to one of my coworkers.  Guess it's been awhile since they've had anyone within range of having a baby.  :)

We will be well-celebrated, I have no doubt!